Construction of miR-15-a-loaded nano-complex and evaluation of its anti-prostate cancer effect in vitro / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To synthesize cationic polymers of arginine-histidine (HRss) based on disulfide crosslink and construct novel nano-complex HRss/miR-15-a, then study its anti-prostate cancer effect in vitro. METHODS: 1H-NMR was used to characterize HRss2/miR-15-a. Zeta sizer was adopted to estimate the Zeta potential and particle size of the nano-complex. Gel electrophoresis was employed to determine the condensation capacity of HRssto miR-15-a. The cytotoxicity and transfection efficiency of HRss was evaluated using prostate cancer stem-like cells (RC-92a/hTERT). Transwell chambers were used to evaluate the influence of HRss/miR-15-a against the motility of RC-92a/hTERT. RESULTS: The RESULTS of cytotoxicity tests indicated that the carrier HRss2 had low toxicity in both normal cells and cancer cells, and the miR-15-a could be loaded in HRss2 to form stable nano-complex. The transfection efficiency and inhibited motility of HRss2/miR-15-a against RC-92a/hTERT were statistically higher than those of HRss1/miR-15-a and HRss3/miR-15-a. CONCLUSION: HRss may be useful for gene delivery, and HRss2, as the optimum polycationic carrier as shown by in vitro evaluation, has the potential to become a novel gene vector in the therapy of prostate cancer.

An epidemiological survey on paragonimiasis in Jin Miaopu township in Shanxi province / 中华预防医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the epidemiological factors and tendency of paragonimiasis in Jin Miaopu township in Zezhou county of Shanxi Province, and to understand the current status of public awareness for providing references to paragonimiasis education and prevention.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A questionnaire survey was conducted among 2172 villagers probing awareness of paragonimiasis and their experiences of eating crabs; Infection screening and antibody test were also performed by means of ELISA.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The paragonimiasis knowledge coverage rate was zero, and 67.7% (1471/2172) of the respondents claimed their histories of crab eating and 96.7% (29/30) of crabs were infected with metacercaria of paragonimus. Of all the study subjects, 11% (241/2172) of them were infected with the positive rate of 4.1% (89/270).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The incidence of paragonimiasis is closely related to dietetic habit in local residents. It is extremely necessary to increase the public awareness of paragonimiasis prevention and control and to improve the living conditions and dietetic habits.</p>

[Clinical efficacy of shenzhe zhuyun mixture in treating esophageal lesion in patients with systemic sclerosis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical efficacy of Shenzhe Zhuyun mixture (SZM) in treating esophageal lesion in patients with systemic sclerosis. METHODS: Sixty-four patients conforming to the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into 2 groups, the treated group and the control group treated respectively by SZM and cisapride, with the blank preparation imitating the contrast one, the treatment course to both groups was 2 months. The clinical efficacy, the changes in symptom scores of esophageal lesion, the orthostatic and clinostatic time of barium passing through esophagus, the clinostatic esophageal emptying index of barium, and the widest transverse diameter of ectatic esophageal segment, as well as the influence of treatment on patients' quality of life were observed. RESULTS: The total effective rate in the treated group was superior to that in the control group (96.9% vs 56.2%, P < 0.01). Symptom of esophageal lesion was significantly improved after treatment in both groups (P<0.01), and the improvement in the treated group was better than that in the control group (P <0.01). The time of Barium passing through esophagus, both orthostatic and clinostatic, and the esophageal emptying index of barium were improved in the treated group (P < 0.01), but the change of the widest transverse diameter of ectatic esophagus was insignificantly improved. While in the control group, excepting the clinostatic time of barium passing through was improved (P<0.01), the other indexes showed no obvious change. Patients' quality of life was significantly improved in the treated group, but improvement didn't revealed in the control group. CONCLUSION: SZM can reinforce esophageal dynamic function in patients with systemic sclerosis, it can be an effective TCM prescription in treating esophageal lesion for them.